Although the setting has changed from Tuscany to Tokyo, Certified Copy director Abbas Kiarostami once again seems to be exploring themes of perception and mistaken identity in his latest film, Like Someone in Love.

Rin Takanashi plays a college student moonlighting as an escort. After spending an apparently sexless evening with an elderly new client (Tadashi Okuno), she allows him to drive her to class the next morning — where they’re spotted by her jealous boyfriend (Ryo Kase), who assumes the old man must be her grandfather. And things get odder from there. Watch the new trailer after the jump.

The primary lineup for the competition slate at the 2012 Cannes has been unveilend, and it is a very strong list of films. There are quite a few expected entries: David Cronenberg‘s Cosmopolis, Lee Daniels‘ The Paperboy, John Hillcoat‘s Lawless (formerly The Wettest County), and Andrew Dominik‘s Killing Them Softly (formerly Cogan’s Trade), and we already knew that Wes Anderson‘s Moonrise Kingdom would open the festival.

But the international lineup is even more exciting, with films such as Rust & Bone from Jacques Audiard, Amour from Micheal Haneke, The Hunt from Thomas Vinterberg, and Mekong Hotel from 2010 Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul. As is occasionally the case with Cannes, this year’s lineup features many returning Cannes award winners; it’s a world-class program.

The downside to all of that is that Paul Thomas Anderson‘s The Master and Terrence Malick‘s as-yet untitled romance starring Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem didn’t show up in the list. There is some time for them to be added to the festival lineup in some measure, but (as expected) we’ll likely have to wait until this fall for The Master. As for the Malick movie… well, it’s Malick, so who knows?

You’ll find the lineup as it has been announced so far after the break. Read More »